Generally, a cluster for notifying predetermined driving information to a driver is installed in front of a driver's seat of a vehicle. The cluster displays overall details of the vehicle, such as a mileage, a fuel state, an external temperature, fuel efficiency, and a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
Recently, in the cluster of the vehicle, departing from a method of simply displaying meter information as a dial method, a digital method of displaying graphic meter information using a large thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) has been developed so as to provide better visibility and display more information.
In the case of using the liquid crystal display over a long time, a burn-in phenomenon in which an image display function deteriorates occurs. Particularly, the cluster apparatus of the vehicle is vulnerable to the burn-in phenomenon because the driving information is not frequently changed and displayed at a fixed position.
Generally, in a liquid crystal display applied to a personal computer (PC) environment, in the case where a computer is not used for a set period of time, the burn-in phenomenon is prevented by using a screen saver which continuously displays a predetermined image on the screen, or turning off power of the screen itself, or the like.
However, in the case where the cluster apparatus for the vehicle displays an image irrelevant to the driving information when driving the vehicle, or turning off the power of the screen, or the like, since the method may threaten safety of the driver, there is a limit to applying the same method in the PC environment.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.